Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe

I’ve heard a lot about Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe, especially in magazines.  However it wasn’t until recently when GRock’s friend started working there as a baker that I’ve succumbed to lots more praises and recommendations from GRock. The final nail in the coffin was when GRock showed me a picture of this magical looking poached plum tart that they had for the Fall season.  I had to have it, so finally I made a date with Miz Brown Sugar, C-Dizzle, and Erin to visit the bakery for a sugar coma fest.

There are a ton of baked goods to choose from obviously, but they have a pretty extensive cafe menu too.  We were instructed by GRock to arrive no later than 10:45am on a Friday for the best selection.

And it was a wise decision, as we saw that the store was constantly busy.  We were lucky though that their signature item the Almond Croissant was still plentiful even by the time we left, as were a lot of their other goodies.

Miz Brown Sugar is vegan so all she had was a latte (every baked good has eggs in it).  She was very excited about the latte art.

Since we arrived so early, I hadn’t had a chance to eat breakfast yet.  Neither had C-Dizzle and she quickly hopped to it and ordered a Brioche with Duck Prosciutto, Rillette Mayo, Red Oak Lettuce, Candied Walnuts & Apple ($9.5, not pictured).  I was originally just here for the sweets, but once she unwrapped her sandwich, I knew I had to get one too.  So I picked the Cheese Scone with Porchetta & Smoked Cheddar ($9.5, pictured above).

Hot Chocolates & CakeBread Bakery

Cold winter weather always calls for a nice, cozy cup of hot chocolate don’t you agree? We took a short trip to the island, and while it wasn’t exactly wintery weather, it was still mighty cold. So Hitman took me to a place in downtown Courtenay called Hot Chocolates for…wait for it….Hot Chocolate!!

Now Hot Chocolates actually coexists with the artisan bakery Cakebread.  On one side, there’s handmade belgian chocolate treats of all sorts plus gelato.  On the other side, baked goodies that are sure to bring out your indecisive side.

Best Masala Chai Ever!

So after the failed Spot Prawn Festival visit, PS and I just decided to head to Granville Island for a stroll.  Trying out GoFish was out of the question too as that line up was probably the same length as the one to buy tickets for the prawn boil.

Then PS remembered the best Masala Chai in Vancouver, and took me there.

And where did we get said best masala chai?  At Granville Island Tea Company.

It is freshly brewed and so it took a little while.  It was a Saturday after all but then I really thought the girls could’ve given more smiles or actually answered simple questions like “Is this my order right here?” without giving us eye-rolls.  That was honestly not necessary.

Random Eats – Kyoto

Honestly, while in Japan, I never went into a meal or ate anything because I was hungry.  It was more because I HAD to eat it because I’m IN FREAKIN’ JAPAN.  It may be a while before I come back so I needed to eat everything I wanted to eat.

Which will explain the insane amount of food pictures I took.  It would be too much of a hassle to do separate posts on each thing so I’ve decided that, for some of them, they’ll be by day.

Before we headed off to Kyoto, we found a little cafe just across from our Shin-Osaka hotel.  After taking a look at their menu outside, we decided to have breakfast here.

Again I must reiterate- Japanese coffee is damn good.

Anyways for my breakfast I chose the Egg & Cheese toast.  It came with a salad of sorts.

Japanese bread is notorious for being soft, fluffy, chewy, and this was no different.  It was thickly sliced and topped with chunky scrambled eggs, ketchup, and cheese.  It was simple and so good.  I’ll probably try to make this at home.

Pumpkin Seed Cream Cheese Muffin @ Starbucks

Get it.  You won’t regret it.  Well, maybe in a few hours.  But it’ll be worth it 🙂